Speciation

• what is speciation?

  formation of a new species, when 2 populations become so varied that they cannot interbreed to produce fertile offspring
• definition of a species

  groups of organisms with similar characteristics which are able to interbreed to produce fertile offspring
• outline the process of speciation through geographic isolation

  • 2 populations of the same species are separated geographically
  • geographic isolation prevents interbreeding and mixing of genes between the populations
  • due to different selection pressures, different mutations occur producing different phenotypes in each population
  • over time, the 2 populations may evolve so that they can’t interbreed
• why is genetic variation important in speciation?

  produces phenotypic variation, some of which are better suited to the environment and are selected for